This is probably one of the biggest news ever. Andy Kaufman, the great entertainer, actor and performance artist (he didn't like to be referred to as a comedian) might be alive. The actor is notably known for his characters Foreign Man, Mighty Mouse, Latka Gravas in "Taxi," and Tony Clifton. In late 1983 Kaufman was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer, and he admitted to the public in 1984 that he had an unspecified illness. After a short battle with cancer, he died in a hospital in West Hollywood on May 16, 1984 of kidney failure, caused by metastasized large-cell lung carcinoma. He was 35 years old.
However, many believed his death was a hoax. Kaufman allegedly told many people that he wished to fake his own death and he himself reputedly claimed that if he were to fake his death, he would return 20 years later, which would have been in 2004. However, given recent events, if Kaufman were to return, it's most likely he'll do it on the 30th anniversary of his death, which will be next year. And he's already started dropping hints. It all went down on Monday, Nov. 11 at the 9th Annual Andy Kaufman Awards, which took place at New York's Gotham Comedy Club. Andy's brother, Michael took the stage and opened up about his sibling's legacy and how he didn't know if he was really dead.
Michael started telling a story about how he was going through his brother's things after his death, and found an essay written by Andy about how he would go about faking his own death. The document said that he would reappear on Christmas Eve 1999 at a specific restaurant. Michael went to that place on that date but instead of seeing his brother, he was given a letter addressed to him from Andy. The letter explained how Andy wanted to live a normal life and "he'd met and fallen in love with a woman and had a daughter, and that he didn't want Michael or anyone to say anything while their own father was still alive."
The Kaufman patriarch, Stanley died this July, and Michael then explained that about a month later, a young woman reached out to him, saying that Andy was alive and that he had actually been paying attention to the Awards "from afar" and was very proud of the event. Michael brought her to the event, and invited her to the stage. The 24-year-old woman claimed she was Andy's daughter, who explained that she had got in touch because Andy was "really sad about his dad and the fact that [she] had never got to meet him"
"I never got to meet you", she told Michael. "You don't feel like my uncle because I never got to know you but you have similar eyes." Michael asked if Andy had sent her with a message, to which she replied, "he didn't tell me to impart anything, but I know how much he cares about the awards." The woman suggested that Kaufman had only recently told her and her about his life in the spotlight. "I'm only just getting to know about this new part of my dad and stuff."
"I don't know how much longer he can keep everything away," she said, "he was really thinking about coming. I think something in him needs to come out." When an audience member asked what Kaufman was doing now, the woman explained that he was leading the life of a stay-at-home father. "He raised us and he helps my Mom with her business. He makes us food and takes care of the house and stuff." The name of the woman was kept a secret throughout her appearance and Michael even asked the audience not to follow her after the show was over.
According to Ed Cavanagh, showroom manager at the Gotham Comedy Club, "You could see by the look on [Michael's] face that it had an emotional impact on him." Asked whether or not he believes the woman's story, Cavanagh adds, "I don't know whether somebody is perpetrating something on [Michael] or not. I'm truly 50-50 on this one." However, Al Parinello, a lifelong friend of Andy Kaufman who produces the awards, talked to The Hollywood Reporter and is certain that this is all real. "I witnessed the entire thing and I can tell you without a doubt this was not a prank."
Killy Dwyer, a comedian who had previously been a finalist in the Andy Kaufman Awards, was in attendance and shared her amazement in a public Facebook post: "I can't tell you how it was," Dwyer wrote, "only that it was as real as any reality that I've seen. I get that it is - could - might all be a hoax. That was the only and last thing I want to say. It was chilling, upsetting and absolutely intriguing. I bawled my eyes out. The entire room was freaked out," she added. Watch the video of Andy Kaufman's alleged daughter below and let us know what your thoughts. Do you think Andy Kaufman is alive or not? Sound off in the comment section below!
UPDATE: The Smoking Gun has found out the truth about Andy Kaufman's alleged daughter. In true Kaufman spirit, this stint was a hoax planned by Michael, and the girl is actually an actress named Alexandra Tatarsky, whose real dad is a 58-year-old psychologist. Tatarsky was recruited by Michael Kaufman earlier this year while working at a Manhattan gallery exhibiting a collection of Kaufman "ephemera and artifacts" from his personal and professional life.
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